The Blueberry – Natures Blue Wonder Fruit
Summer time means loads of blueberries are ripe for picking. You may be eating tons of blueberries this time of year because they taste great, but these amazing berries are also great for your body. My friend Stuart sent me a guest post for you my lovelies to learn more reasons to stock up on blueberries while they’re in season! Thanks Stuart 
Ever look at a Blueberry and wonder, why am I eating this little blue berry? What benefits are hidden in this little sweet berry?
Well here is a little about the wondrous superpowers hidden in this little sweet and wondrous blue fruit.
Blueberries are a very powerful antioxidant for your health and wellness, offering great benefits to the nervous system. Extensive research data has also shown that blueberry consumption has significant brain health enhancing powers. Not only does blueberries consumption offer improved brain health, but it has also have been linked to significantly slow down the progression of cognitive deterioration associated with aging.
We all know that berries in general are considered to be low in terms of glycemic index, and recent studies have found that those who ate 3 servings of low glycemic fruit per day saw a significant improvement in their blood sugar regulation over a 3 month period (Hemoglobin A1c).
Another one of the great powers of our little Blueberry is that it carries a tremendous amount of oxidative powers shown to have a strong effect on cardiovascular performance and assisting the entire body in its fight against cancer, especially colon cancer by keeping the digestive track healthy. Aside for being beneficial to cardiovascular health, incorporating blueberries into your diet can have a tremendously positive effect on HDL levels, (Good cholesterol) helps to lower triglycerides, and also protects LDL Levels (Bad cholesterol) from oxygen damage which can cause blood vessel and clogging, which in turn will keep your heart healthy giving you a healthy blood pressure level and a healthy functioning heart.
Now that you have learned just a small bit of what Blueberries offer you, and how important it is to utilize the great powers they possess, make the special effort to include them to your diet by adding them to cereals, smoothies or just enjoy them freshly washed out of the box. But most of all …ENJOY!
We all are aware of the health benefits of ginger and its cleansing powers. Check out this great recipe combining both ginger and blueberries giving you a great refreshing treat and a powerful antioxidant punch.
Wild Blueberry-Ginger Juice
Just one of the 120 new drink recipes from Chill: Deliciously Fresh Ways to Drink to your Health – a new recipe book by our friends at Cooking Light. Want to read more? Find out more blueberry facts + recipes when you follow @WildBBerries4U on Twitter or by checking out this “Chill” Wild About Health Blog.
Ingredients
· 1/2 cup sugar
· 1/2 cup water
· 1/4 cup coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger
· 6 (2-inch-long) strips lemon rind
· 4 cups wild blueberries
· 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
· 2 (10-ounce) bottles club soda, chilled
· Ice cubes
· Lemon rind strips or lemon slices (optional)
Preparation
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 5 minutes or until cold. Pour syrup through a sieve into a pitcher; discard solids.
2. Place half of wild blueberries and grated ginger in a blender; process 20 seconds or until smooth. Pour wild blueberry puree through a sieve into pitcher, pressing with the back of a spoon to remove as much juice as possible; discard solids. Stir juice into syrup mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining wild blueberries and grated ginger. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Gently stir club soda into wild blueberry mixture. Serve immediately over ice. Garnish with lemon rind strips or slices, if desired. Serves 5 (serving size: about 1 cup)
Nutritional Information per Serving
CALORIES 151; FAT 0.4g (sat 0.1g, mono 0.1g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 1g; CARB 38.7g; FIBER 3.2g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 0.4mg; SODIUM 26mg; CALC 17mg
+ Stu Lieberman has been writing about Medical, Health and Beauty Supplies for 3 years; from Vitamins and Supplements to Therapy Equipment to Online Medical Supplies Stu uses MedicalSupply123.com for all his personal medical needs.
